This invention relates to a throwing toy and a catching device for the toy, and in particular to a throwing toy formed of elastic, looped filaments, cinched together at a central area and spreading outwardly generally in a ball-shape, and a catching device having an array of upstanding, enlarged-headed bristles configured to receive and capture the looped filaments while dissipating the kinetic energy of the toy when thrown, thus securing the toy to the catching device even when the toy is thrown at a high velocity. The bristles will also capture and secure the toy when it is thrown at a very low grazing angle. The toy is captured and secured by the looped filaments' intertwining around and being engaged by the bristles, typically with many of the looped filaments extending around two or more bristles and with the looped filaments extending around widely separated bristles, so that the toy is retained on the catching device.
The throwing toy may alternatively have a head of elastic, looped filaments attached to a finned tail section, for an overall shape of a dart or rocket. The dart- or rocket-shaped toy is weighted so that the looped-filament head generally stays forward when the toy is thrown and the catching device receives and captures the looped filaments as for the ball shape.
Systems have been designed in the past using hook-and-loop fasteners, such as those sold under the trademark VELCRO, with the hooks or loops provided on a ball and the complementary fasteners provided on a catching mitt. However, when such systems are used, the ball tends to bounce off of the mitt when thrown at a high speed, or to glance off the mitt when thrown at a low grazing angle to the mitt. Such systems as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,442 attempt to solve the problem of failed retention of the ball by the mitt by providing layers of padding to dissipate the ball's energy. Such solutions do nothing to help catch the ball when thrown at a low grazing angle and still allow the ball to bounce off if thrown at a high enough speed.